


The primes

by Salllzy



Series: Eezo primes [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: New Race, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:23:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10561014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salllzy/pseuds/Salllzy
Summary: Something changed, instead of death, they were offered an alliance and for the first time since they were born the primes took the offered hand.It changed everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea at the moment, with the new Mass Effect game out and new races as well as new faces. It got me thinking.
> 
> Element Zero or Eezo as it more commonly known as, it's something of a mystery while it is used for FTL drives and releases dark energy that is manipulated into a mass effect field, there is still very little known about it. While it is created or generated when a star goes supernova and effects a planet, just what does it to people? Why is it some of them react to Eezo and other don’t? What if there is a specific genetic mutation within biotics that allows them to become a biotic, it very well could be a genetic mutation. Which comes back to the question of why do only some people become biotics and others don’t, why can some people react to Eezo and others have no reaction at all. Is it a mutation that only affects people when they have met a certain genetic requirement? But if that was the case then why is it is that Asari are biotics? Turians are not biotics, is it because they are unable to become them?
> 
> I give you the Eezo prime.
> 
> Now allow me to explain about the Eezo primes, they do not have what many races would class as blood, but rather they have liquid element zero as their blood. Which means that unlike the rest of the races that only have mild dangers with their blood, a Eezo prime has a completely different set of rules. Element zero is dangerous that much is very true, it can and has killed people, which means that they have had to develop completely differently to all of the other races. That means that their own genetic code and bodies would have adapted so that their own blood wouldn’t kill them or cause their brain to melt, thus a completely different set of rules.
> 
> They age slower, their bodies have adapted meaning that their age is significantly slowed, for every year that passes they will age three months. But their fertility rate is extremely low, which means children are rare. Which also means that their punishments against children are far harsher than the other races, such punishment can be death or a year of hard labor, hard labor doesn’t seem like much but remember element zero is created by a star going supernova. The person that had committed the crime could very well be dead in a few seconds due to the radiation alone. That also means that their bodies have adapted to high levels of radiation as well, also reducing fertility rate as well. To put it another way the Krogan are more fertile than a Eezo prime.
> 
> The predate the Protheans but due the fact that their planet is surrounded by three black holes and five suns one of which has regular solar flares, the reapers didn’t risk trying to harvest them. Even though they are guided by a AI who took the form of a child when Shepard saw them, they could have combated against the black holes gravitational pull and could have resisted it they are still machines. Solar flares can also cause EMP or electromagnetic pulse which would disrupt them, despite how advanced they are they are still arrogant to believe that they would be able to harvest all life only to be stopped by a single person.
> 
> So the reapers made a calculated risk to leave the primes alone, knowing that even if a race was able to get past the unnatural defenses that the planet has they would then have to deal with the radiation that makes Tuchanka look like a child's playground.So yes while the reapers could have harvested them they chose not to, to put it simply it was not worth the risk.The primes cannot leave their planet, while they are advanced in some areas they are not in others. Even if they did have the ability to leave, there is still the matter of solar flares and black holes to consider, because of this they have not explored the rest of the galaxy and could be considered a child race when they are anything but.
> 
> That doesn’t mean that the reapers left them alone, they are beings of pure element zero, which is used to power mass effect cores. Which caused the two races to form an uneasy alliance, the primes are not stupid they knew that if the reapers wanted to they would harvest them, they simply decided that they were not worth the risk of losing more than three quarters of their fleet to do so.
> 
> It doesn’t mean that they didn’t form a friendship, the primes understood the burden that the reapers carried, they had stored all of the data from ever race that they had ever harvested. Their history, culture, science anything that belonged to whatever race they had harvested, the reapers were trying to save the galaxy but ended up being its biggest threat.The primes are an outside source they are not completely organic, they can provide a view that is not only a new source but it also allows the reapers new ways of dealing with the races. Lets face it the Protheans were dicks and got what was coming to them.

* * *

 

Being old meant that you had done a lot of things, seen things and in many cases did something that you were not proud of. The Eezo primes did not have that luxury, their entire planet was a death trap. If you could somehow make it passed the black holes and the five suns one of which had solar flares that could last up to a month, then you would have to find some way of dealing with radiation that could kill you in a matter of seconds.

When they had first met another race it was the reapers, they had feared for their lives. Some of them were old, old enough to know that the reapers were not visiting them for a friendly chat and a cup of tea. Despite the fact that their bodies had element zero flowing through them and could easily absorb enough radiation that would normally kill a person the primes were not what one would class as a violent race, their lives were filled with enough danger as it was. They didn’t choose to live on the planet, they simply had no way of moving to another one and even if they could somehow combat the effects of a EMP that a solar flare emitted then they would have to find some way of dealing with the three black holes that surrounded their planet. Every day they lived their lives in fear, fearing that the thin and deadly balance would snap at any second and their planet would be torn apart.

So while they were afraid of the reapers, they did not fear death.

But something changed, instead of death, they were offered an alliance and for the first time since they were born the primes took the offered hand.

It changed everything.

Eezo primes are not purely organic neither are they synthetic, they did not have what many races would class as blood but rather pure undiluted element zero running through their veins. A single thing had drastically changed how they had evolved, they could withstand radiation that would normally kill other races, their eyes were a pure blue with no iris.

They had what human would call hair but it was not really hair but rather very thin strands of element zero and titanium, which gave their hair a metallic look. More often than not they would cut it and use it as rope by weaving the thin strands together. They would also use it to make other things such as clothes and even strings for musical instruments.

Their skin had a pale blue tint to it, which either got brighter or darker depending on what emotions they were experiencing. A darker tint to their skin meant that they were experiencing emotions such as anger or sadness, while a lighter tint meant that they were either flattered or embarrassed.

They could experience love, hatred, happiness and joy like many of the other races but their were not expressed through sub vocal cords, a mind meld or even harmonic humming. It was their eyes that showed their emotions the most, a single look could be an entire conversation and the look could only last for a few seconds.

However a symbol of devotion, love, commitment and faithfulness was a vial of their own blood in a crystal that was wrapped with strands of their own hair. While Turians had clan markings the primes had something similar, each prime had a element zero crystal in the middle of their chests it grew as they got older by the time they reached a certain age it stopped growing. By taking a piece out of it, they were showing that they were willing to do all in their power to support their life mate and if need be lay down their life for them.

Removing the small piece of crystal from their chests was painful as their bodies could burn off most sedatives and other anesthetics in a matter of seconds it meant that they were awake while the crystal was being removed, those that had pieces of their own crystal removed and given to the life mates did suffer from migraines, dizziness, loss of appetite and many other things until the crystal regrew itself. But the sight of seeing their life mate wearing their crystal with pride was worth all of the pain that they went through.

So when the reaper offered them a hand they took it, they didn’t know that they had changed the reason that the reapers harvested races, they didn’t know that by one action they had changed the way that the reapers viewed the other races. Once the reapers once saw them as an anomaly something that they needed to remove, now they saw them as children that needed guidance. Because that was what they were, Turians, Hanar, Asari, Humans, Drell it didn’t matter to the reapers they were children, children who had gone far too long without anyone to guide them, to teach them. The reapers were going to correct it.

The reapers had no problem with erasing the races if they proved that they were incapable of learning from them, the Protheans had been a prime example of that.

The reapers visited them and often the Eezo primes found that they enjoyed the company of the reapers despite the fact that they had been trying to harvest them, they didn’t know if it was because of the fact that they couldn’t leave the planet or if it was a different reason entirely. But they were not about to try and change the reapers minds, while it was puzzling they were grateful.

For nearly a million years they were happy, the reapers while often busy would tend to leave on or two of them near the planet. The first time it had happened the primes were nervous and unsure but they had quickly went about their daily lives, the reapers gave them what information they could, kept them up to date about the races and what was going on.

“Quarians have made an AI.”

A single Eezo prime was stood in a lab when he heard the rumbling voice of the reaper, the first time it had happened he had jumped several feet into the air. Now he was used to it, his ice blue eyes flickered to a deep blue before going back to their normal color.

“This shocks you because? We have always known that a race would try and develop something like this, granted we did not think that it would be the Quarians that did it.”

The reaper rumbled for a few minutes, it was very clear to the prime that the reaper didn’t know what to make of the situation. Normally they would take it as a sign that soon the current cycle would be ready for harvesting, but now? Now they didn’t know what to do, they knew that they had to guide them but they didn’t know how to. They were considered myths.

“They are traveling the same route as all other cycles before them, your point was valid but they have shown no signs of improvement or learning.”

Ice blue eyes turned and looked at the reaper for a few seconds, when the reapers first started talking to them they would get migraines that would last for weeks. Eventually they had developed a way to neutralize the migraines. The reapers were impressed, it had taken them weeks to do what many other races couldn’t.

“In order to learn they need to make mistakes, how can one condemn an entire race because of one person's actions. I believe the term would be racist, we cannot leave our planet so we are not a threat to you. But you know that should we chose to we could be a threat, we chose not to be one. We have years of friendship between us, you were the first to reach out to us. We know you as well as we know ourselves.”

There was a deep rumble signaling that the reaper was about to speak, a dark blue hand was held up and the reaper quieted for a moment.

“Even we have made mistakes, despite how old we are. But we have learned from them, we have adapted and made sure not to make the same mistakes again. The Salarians uplifted the Krogan, but the Krogan had no real structure. They had no real leader but a lot of clans trying to fight for control and rather than helping them the Salarians created something that should never have been created, the Genophage. It was the Turians who unleashed it, such a thing should never have been created. It should never have been used.”

Tinted blue skin flashed to black before going back to its normal color, ice blue eyes rapidly changed color before settling on cobalt.

“If we had known about it ahead of time we would have gladly waged a war against the two races, you know as well as I do that we would have won. We have not lasted this long without being able to fight and defend ourselves, our entire planet is capable of killing us at any given moment.”

The reaper was still silent, reapers had organic minds and right now they were screaming that he was not done that there was more to say and they were right.

“If a forest is on fire one needs to know how to deal with fire, they are children that have just discovered it and are playing with it. They do not know just what fire is and why it burns the way it does, children need to learn that fire burns before they can learn to use it.”

The reaper rumbled it was very clear that it was assimilating the new information, the information or conversation that they had even though it had been one sided was true in more ways than one.

“We will wait, we will see if they can learn from their mistakes. If they learn that fire burns, but if they do not then the cycle will continue.”

Ice blue eyes looked at his friend a small smile on his lips.

“Thank you Nazara.”

Despite everything the Eezo prime found himself hoping that the races would learned that fire burned, the Protheans had not and the reapers did to them what they had done to the galaxy. Enslaved them. He did something that he had not done since he had been young.

He prayed.


End file.
